These celebrities were personally affected by 9/11

The actor worked 12-hour shifts for several days in search of survivors. "It was a privilege to be able to do it. It was great to connect with the firehouse I used to work with and with some of the guys I worked alongside. And it was enormously helpful for me because while I was working, I didn't really think about it as much, feel it as much," said Buscemi.

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Pete Davidson -

Pete Davidson lost a very special person in the terrorist attack of 9/11: his father.

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Pete Davidson -

The comedian's father, Scott Davidson, was a NYC firefighter at Ladder Company 118 in Brooklyn Heights‚ New York. He died at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

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Pete Davidson -

Davidson has his father's badge number, 8418, tattooed on his left arm.

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Gwyneth Paltrow -

The famous actress inadvertently saved an office worker's life. Lara Lundstrom Clarke, who worked in the World Trade Center, walked in front of Paltrow's SUV.

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Gwyneth Paltrow -

The office worker was starstruck for a brief moment, but the delay was enough for her to miss the train to work. If it wasn't for Paltrow, the account manager at Baseline Financial Services would've been on the 77th floor of the south tower when the attacks occurred.

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Michael Jackson -

MJ could have been another victim of the 9/11 attacks if it wasn't for his mother, Katherine Jackson.

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Michael Jackson -

The singer was supposed to attend a meeting on the morning of 9/11 at the top of one of the Twin Towers. Luckily, he stayed up late talking to his mom and sister Rebbie, and overslept.

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Rob Lowe -

The actor had been on a flight with the 9/11 hijackers just 11 days before the terror attacks.

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Rob Lowe -

Nothing suspicious happened during the dry run flight from Washington DC to Los Angeles. "Looked around the cabin, don't remember anything in particular, nobody looked scary, nobody looked like a terrorist. It looked like an absolutely normal flight," said Lowe.

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Mark Wahlberg -

The actor was booked to fly to New York City on American Airlines Flight 11, the plane that crashed into the north tower.

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Mark Wahlberg 2 -

Luckily, Wahlberg and his friends had a change of heart and decided to fly to Canada to attend a film festival in Toronto instead.

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Seth MacFarlane -

Like Mark Wahlberg, the creator of 'Family Guy' was also scheduled to be on Flight 11 to New York City.

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Seth MacFarlane -

But MacFarlane had been out drinking the night before, so he missed the flight by 10 minutes. It also helped that his agent incorrectly told him the flight was due to leave at 8:15 am, instead of 7:45 am.

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Sarah, Duchess of York -

Sarah Ferguson was due to attend a meeting on the morning of 9/11 at her charity, Chances for Children, whose headquarters were on the 101st floor of the north tower.

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Sarah, Duchess of York -

However, Fergie was busy in the morning promoting her charity on NBC, so she was late for the meeting. The Duchess of York was stuck in traffic when the plane hit the tower she was supposed to be in.

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Donna Summer -

The Queen of Disco, who died in 2012 of lung cancer, believed her illness was caused by the toxic dust particles she inhaled during 9/11.

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Donna Summer -

While this can't be proven, maybe Summer was on to something. According to the World Trade Center Health Program, 3,496 people have died of 9/11-related illnesses.

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Paul McCartney -

The former Beatle was about to take off at JFK airport when his flight was canceled due to the terrorist attacks.

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Paul McCartney -

"I was on my way back to England, and we were at JFK on the tarmac, and the pilot just suddenly said, 'We can't take off. We're going to have to go back to base.' And out of the window on the right‑hand side of the airplane, you could see the twin towers. You could see one plume of smoke, and then you could see two shortly thereafter," recalled McCartney.

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Philip Seymour Hoffman -

The late actor lived in Manhattan when the attacks took place, and witnessed it closer than many.

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Philip Seymour Hoffman -

"I was there that morning. I live about a mile away from where it happened, so I think there's a personal remembrance of that, that's pretty hard to shake," he recalled.

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Matt Damon -

The actor was yet another celebrity who witnessed the horrific event from his window.

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Matt Damon -

"I lived in lower Manhattan at the time. So I just remember walking out of my apartment and seeing it and then going back in and watching CNN 'cause I was so hungry for information, trying to figure out what’s going on," said Damon.

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Lady Gaga -

The singer was actually in school and saw the attacks from the roof of Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City.

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Lady Gaga -

"As a New Yorker, it's very intense. I've never really spoken about this before but I was in New York on September 11 and I watched the Towers fall with all my girlfriends from the roof of our school. The whole city was covered in ashes," Gaga recalled.

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Robert De Niro -

The actor was in a meeting when the attacks occurred. He went home and watched the tragedy unfold from his window.

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Robert De Niro -

"I could see the line of fire across the North Tower. I had my binoculars and a video camera—though I didn't want to video it. I saw a few people jump. Then I saw the South Tower go. It was so unreal, I had to confirm it by immediately looking at the television screen. CNN was on. That was the only way to make it real. Like my son said: 'It was like watching the moon fall,'" he recalled.

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Ice-T -

The rapper witnessed the Twin Towers collapsing from his apartment window.

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Rachel Uchitel -

The TV personality tragically lost her fiancé, James Andrew O’Grady, who worked at the World Trade Center.

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Julie Stoffer -

The reality TV personality was scheduled to take Flight 11 from Boston to LA to see her boyfriend. Luckily they got into a fight and she never boarded the plane.

Sources: (Mirror) (Insider) (Grand Forks Herald) (Tinseltown Mom) (World Trade Center Health Program)

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Steve Buscemi -

Before Buscemi found success in Hollywood, he worked as a firefighter in Manhattan. A job he returned to following 9/11.

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Steve Buscemi -

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Pete Davidson -

Pete Davidson lost a very special person in the terrorist attack of 9/11: his father.

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Pete Davidson -

The comedian's father, Scott Davidson, was a NYC firefighter at Ladder Company 118 in Brooklyn Heights‚ New York. He died at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

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Pete Davidson -

Davidson has his father's badge number, 8418, tattooed on his left arm.

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Gwyneth Paltrow -

The famous actress inadvertently saved an office worker's life. Lara Lundstrom Clarke, who worked in the World Trade Center, walked in front of Paltrow's SUV.

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Gwyneth Paltrow -

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Michael Jackson -

MJ could have been another victim of the 9/11 attacks if it wasn't for his mother, Katherine Jackson.

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Michael Jackson -

The singer was supposed to attend a meeting on the morning of 9/11 at the top of one of the Twin Towers. Luckily, he stayed up late talking to his mom and sister Rebbie, and overslept.

Getty Images

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Rob Lowe -

The actor had been on a flight with the 9/11 hijackers just 11 days before the terror attacks.

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Rob Lowe -

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Mark Wahlberg -

The actor was booked to fly to New York City on American Airlines Flight 11, the plane that crashed into the north tower.

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Mark Wahlberg 2 -

Luckily, Wahlberg and his friends had a change of heart and decided to fly to Canada to attend a film festival in Toronto instead.

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Seth MacFarlane -

Like Mark Wahlberg, the creator of 'Family Guy' was also scheduled to be on Flight 11 to New York City.

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Seth MacFarlane -

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Sarah, Duchess of York -

Sarah Ferguson was due to attend a meeting on the morning of 9/11 at her charity, Chances for Children, whose headquarters were on the 101st floor of the north tower.

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Sarah, Duchess of York -

However, Fergie was busy in the morning promoting her charity on NBC, so she was late for the meeting. The Duchess of York was stuck in traffic when the plane hit the tower she was supposed to be in.

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Donna Summer -

The Queen of Disco, who died in 2012 of lung cancer, believed her illness was caused by the toxic dust particles she inhaled during 9/11.

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Donna Summer -

While this can't be proven, maybe Summer was on to something. According to the World Trade Center Health Program, 3,496 people have died of 9/11-related illnesses.

Getty Images

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Paul McCartney -

The former Beatle was about to take off at JFK airport when his flight was canceled due to the terrorist attacks.

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Paul McCartney -

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Philip Seymour Hoffman -

The late actor lived in Manhattan when the attacks took place, and witnessed it closer than many.

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Philip Seymour Hoffman -

"I was there that morning. I live about a mile away from where it happened, so I think there's a personal remembrance of that, that's pretty hard to shake," he recalled.

Getty Images

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Matt Damon -

The actor was yet another celebrity who witnessed the horrific event from his window.

Getty Images

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Matt Damon -

Getty Images

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Lady Gaga -

The singer was actually in school and saw the attacks from the roof of Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City.

Getty Images

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Lady Gaga -

Getty Images

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Robert De Niro -

The actor was in a meeting when the attacks occurred. He went home and watched the tragedy unfold from his window.

Getty Images

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Robert De Niro -

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Ice-T -

The rapper witnessed the Twin Towers collapsing from his apartment window.

Getty Images

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Rachel Uchitel -

The TV personality tragically lost her fiancé, James Andrew O’Grady, who worked at the World Trade Center.

Getty Images

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Julie Stoffer -

The reality TV personality was scheduled to take Flight 11 from Boston to LA to see her boyfriend. Luckily they got into a fight and she never boarded the plane.

Sources: (Mirror) (Insider) (Grand Forks Herald) (Tinseltown Mom) (World Trade Center Health Program)

Getty Images

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These celebrities were personally affected by 9/11

From the death of loved ones to near misses

11/09/24 | StarsInsider

CELEBRITY September 11

The September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City were a tragic event that had a huge impact in many people's lives, and celebrities were no exception. The terrorist attack not only shook the world at large, but it also affected some celebs in particular. Did you know that a few famous faces were scheduled to take American Airlines Flight 11 or were due to be at the Twin Towers when the attacks occurred? But this gallery is not just about near misses. Some stars have indeed saved lives and lost loved ones too.

Browse through the following gallery and get to know the celebrities who were personally affected by 9/11.